Mounted search and rescue

[Una Smith <una.smith@att.net>]

I think the happy medium here is the term "de-spook".  We all want our
horses to not bolt in a mindless panic when perceiving minor novelties
in their environment.  A sudden "squat and look" is another thing;  we
may want them to do that.  "Mom, what is that!?"

My MSAR horse for many years was a retired polo pony.  At the slightest
cue she would bug out like her tail was on fire, pushing through anyone
or anything in her way, but she did it without panicking.  She stood
still for all sorts of experiences that scared her such as getting the
hairy eyeball warning look from an enormous longhorn bull.

A police horse will ignore many threats but then react aggressively to
certain ones.  They are not a good choice for SAR, unless their rider
is similarly trained for mounted policing, as they have those triggers.

        Una